Loans land Congo fish

TO a bank manager, saying you want to import Congolese mackerel or run an art-gallery-cum-laundry can seem a risky business. But the government has injected é785,700 into a fund for community éstart-ups'.

TO a bank manager, saying you want to import Congolese mackerel or run an art-gallery-cum-laundry can seem a risky business.

But the government has injected é785,700 into a Greater Manchester fund for community éstart-upsé that struggle to get conventional backing, after the first recipients proved there was profit in dreams.

The Enterprise Fund has, in the last 18 months, lent é500,000 to 65 entrepreneurs and small businesses in Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford.

Many are now thriving, and together they have created or protected 200 jobs.

Success stories include Agro Food in Salford, a fishmongerés run by Alfred and Elsie Bala-Lata that specialises in imported African goods.

The Bala-Latas spotted a gap in the market for delicacies favoured by African and Caribbean families, including catfish, yellow croaker and red snapper.

Six months later they have customers coming from far and wide to buy in bulk, as well as a stream of regulars.

Varieties

Mr Bala-Lata said: "When people started phoning for directions from Leeds I realised what we were offering was not only hard to get in Salford or Manchester, but throughout the north.

"They come to buy varieties you would never buy in a supermarket, and many stock up for a month or two."

Louise Watson and Deborah Faulkner were left in a spin when the cost of machines for their "designer laundry" in Manchester suddenly soared.

They got no joy from the banks, but a loan from the Enterprise Fund saw them through and means the business, the White Peg Laundry Company, now has accounts with some of the cityés top hotels, fashion shops and bars.

The main office in Tib Street is kitted out with contemporary art and 1950s furniture.

Small Business Minister Nigel Griffiths, announcing the new money, said Community Development Finance Instututions like the Enterprise Fund were helping people of all backgrounds follow their dreams.

"CDFIs have a vital role to play in providing finance to some of our most imaginative and tenacious entrepreneurs," he said.

Drew Thomas, board director of the Enterprise Fund, said: "This is fantastic news that will allow us to continue to make a real difference in some of our most deprived communities."